Context Flashcards
summarise the context of the poet and the time the poem was written
Clod and the Pebble, William Blake
- artist, poet, engraver
- began his artistic career aged 10
- always very poor, but rich in spirit
- seminal figure of the romantic era
Passion, Kathleen Raine
influenced by Romanticism and admired Blake’s work, poem published 1943 during WWII.
Winter Song, Elizabeth Tollet
18th century, she was very well educated for a woman of her time, as well as very well connected, she was good friends with Isaac Newton. She remained unmarried her whole life.
Love III, George Herbert
George became a priest in 1630, and the poem was published in 1633.
She Was a Phantom of Delight, William Wordsworth
Wordsworth was a central figure during the Romantic period, which is evident from his deep appreciation for nature. The poem was possibly inspired by his wife, who was also his childhood sweetheart.
Surplus Value, David C Ward
American historian and poet
- high unemployment in 1900s
- links to the dream man, ideal masculinity, breadwinner
Father returning home, Dilip Chitre
reflects Chitre’s childhood, when his family moved to the densely populated Mumbai, presumably for his father’s job
In The Park, Gwen Harwood
published 1961, written under a male pen name because no woman at the time would’ve admitted feeling resentment for her husband and children
The Lost Woman, Patricia Beer
Beer’s mother passed when she was 14, she was a schoolteacher who tutored her daughter and imposed non-conformist Christian ideals on her (euphemism)
Stabat Mater, Sam Hunt
parents have a 30 year age gap, his father was 60 when he was born
Australia 1970, Judith Wright
Wright is an environmentalist and is against industrialism.
The Description of Spring, Henry Howard
invented the Shakespearean sonnet with the rhyming couplet at the end. He was born into upper class as the Earl of Surrey.
The Spring, Thomas Carew
part of a highly educated group of poets known as the Cavalier. Published in 1640, a conservative society
The Darkling Thrush, Thomas Hardy
Hardy was part of the Romantic movement, he’s industrially conservative. Published in 1900, during the second industrial revolution against scientific discovery and mass production.
Eel Tail, Alice Oswald
no context given
The Buck in the Snow, Edna St. Vincent Millay
published in the roaring twenties 1928 (urbanisation of many Americans). Millay lived through WWI, growing up poor in a rural area with a single mother. Millay was a strong feminist.
